Do I have a leg to stand on?

[bunjies]

I am nearing the end of my first contract job and feel like I've been well and truly shafted.

After a couple of weeks of doing the job I found out that my hourly rate was equivalent to a post 5 grades less than the post was actually graded at. It worked out that the difference was about £5/hr less which over the 3 month contract equated to about £2000 gross. When I raised the discrepancy with my manager he told me this was a mistake and that I should be paid at the higher rate and that he would speak to whoever to get it changed and backdated. All well and good. However, this week he has told me (after I asked for written confirmation of our conversation) that the rate cannot be changed as I signed the contract at the original rate despite this apparently being a mistake.

One of the problems is that the work is for a local authority and they use a system called Comensura to outsource their contract jobs. A mgr will make a request for a contract worker on Comensura and this is then sent to recruitment agencies. According to my mgr someone put the request on but at the wrong grade. It was only after I'd been working here that I realised what the rate of pay for this post should have been as the grading was displayed on the staff intranet.

Does having signed a contract with the original rate mean that I have no recourse, even if it is plainly obvious the rate of pay is incorrect? Or should I forget it and put it down to an expensive learning experience?

Well I wouldn't say so (unfortunately).

You sold your services at a rate you initially agreed.

You later discovered that others were getting paid more for doing the same job.

Expensive learning experience I'm afraid.

Have you done some market research on temp rates in your industry? You could go direct to the organisations you want to sell your services to, at a rate that slightly undercuts the agencies - or tell the temp agency you contract through that your rate is X and you won't work for less.

Anyway ... it happens to everyone as they are starting off. Or if it's not that you bid too low on a job, underestimating the amount of work it will take - another costly error. Look at this way - loss of £2K is better than £5K is better than £10K etc.

Also you don't have managers any more.

You have customers.

Although you can call them managers to keep them happy in the office

Thanks for the reply. I had pretty much accepted I wasn't going to get any more but thought it was worth asking.